Finland and Austria have frozen Russian-owned assets worth approximately $500 million as part of a legal campaign by Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz to recover compensation for property seized by Russia in Crimea in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reports. In April 2023, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz more than $5 billion. Moscow refused to comply, prompting the Ukrainian company to pursue Russian assets in other countries to enforce the ruling. Naftogaz says it will continue its efforts until Russia pays the compensation owed. In Austria, 23 Russian-owned properties worth more than €120 million are subject to enforcement proceedings that could eventually lead to forced sales. The assets reportedly include houses and apartments in Vienna’s Währing, Döbling and Donaustadt districts, a former Soviet ambassador’s residence in Purkersdorf, and a villa in Salzburg. In March 2026, Vienna’s Regional Court upheld the authorization to pursue the assets and rejected Russia’s appeal. Moscow argues that the properties are protected by state immunity and serve official government purposes. However, the court has yet to determine whether immunity applies to these specific properties.